There was nothing left to do on the practice day of the second leg of the Merchbanc Barcelona Winter Series, hosted by Real Club Nautico de Barcelona, that runs through until Sunday. Inclement weather, marked by 35 knots of breeze and angry seas, forced Race Committee Chairman Vincent Cespedes to cancel practice racing on Friday, if for anything to preserve the integrity of sails and equipment.

Despite the big breeze and giant waves, Marc de Antonio’s Bribon-Movistar and Javier Sherk’s Gunter ventured out for some practice around 1100 to test out the conditions, which produced terrific downwind surfing opportunities and fantastic manouevuers. “We went out to train, but the gusts were quite strong and the navigation was really tough.” said De Antonio. “The decision to cancel the practice race was the right move.”

Two days of racing commences on Saturday at 1100 Barcelona time with three windward-leeward races. Forecasts are calling for the breeze to slowly decrease overnight to 10-15 knots.